Using research evidence – a practice guide

This guide has been designed by the Centre for Youth Impact to help organisations improve the way they work by using evidence effectively. It aims to help you understand how and when evidence can be used, what types of evidence can be found, where to find it, and how you can communicate it to your beneficiaries.

What is in it?

This guide has been designed to help organisations improve the way they work by using evidence effectively. It aims to help you understand how and when evidence can be used, what types of evidence can be found, where to find it, and how you can communicate it to your beneficiaries.

The guide is split into five sections:

What is evidence-informed decision-making, and why focus on research?

When can evidence help you?

What evidence should you choose?

Where should you look for evidence?

How should you communicate your findings?

The guide also contains three appendices, each containing a tool aimed at helping you to decide the best type of evidence for your organisation/intervention, and what type of research methodology might be appropriate.

Who is it for?

This guide will likely benefit two specific sets of individuals:

Those intrigued about the potential use of evidence in evaluating a project. The report goes some way to highlight the benefits of evidence through several real-world case studies. This should act as a good introduction to the concept of generating and using data.

Those who have started to use evidence but are uncertain of how best to target it towards their intervention/organisation. The guide provides examples of the various types of data that can be collected, and in which context each type would be of the greatest benefit (e.g. a literature review for understanding existing approaches in the sector). This guide will help you to understand the practical application of evidence to your specific intervention.